Yard Goats play first home game at new Hartford stadium

Pat Eaton-robb The Associated Press

Published 8:37 pm, Thursday, April 13, 2017

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Hartford Yard Goats pitcher Yency Almonte throws the first official pitch at Hartford's new Dunkin' Donuts Park on opening day in Hartford, Conn., Thursday, April 13, 2017. The city and its minor league baseball team are celebrating opening day at the city‚Äôs new 6,000-seat stadium, a year late and millions of dollars over budget. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb) less

Hartford Yard Goats pitcher Yency Almonte throws the first official pitch at Hartford's new Dunkin' Donuts Park on opening day in Hartford, Conn., Thursday, April 13, 2017. The city and its minor league ... more

Photo: AP

Yard Goats play first home game at new Hartford stadium

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HARTFORD, Conn. >> Elizabeth Ortiz was among the first fans to step inside Dunkin’ Donuts park Thursday as the city officially opened its 6,000-seat minor league baseball stadium, albeit a year late and millions of dollars over budget.

“This means life for Hartford,” said Ortiz, 27, who grew up in Hartford and came to opening night for the Double-A Yard Goats with about 80 family members. “Hopefully this will bring Hartford a good rep and lots of fun.”

The team, an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, is the first professional club to call Hartford home since the Hartford Chiefs in 1952.

The Yard Goats are in their second year after moving 15 miles north from New Britain, where the team played through the 2015 season as the Rock Cats.

The club was forced to play its games on the road last year when construction delays caused the opening of Dunkin’ Donuts Park to be pushed back numerous times. The city eventually fired the developer, leading to an insurance investigation, litigation and more delays.

Thursday’s first home game at the state-of-the-art, two-deck stadium, against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, sold out weeks ago. The Fisher Cats won 7-2.

“After all the acrimony of the last year, it’s gratifying to see the smiles on everyone’s faces,” Yard Goat’s owner Josh Solomon said. “This city deserves a gem like Dunkin’ Donuts Park.”

The city has issued more than $68 million in bonds for stadium, which originally had been projected to cost $55 million, and has spent several million more on such things as street improvements in the area.

Mayor Luke Bronin, who was an opponent of the stadium before inheriting the project from a previous administration, said he doesn’t think it will ever be a money-maker for Hartford.

“What it does do is help create greater energy in the downtown, put more feet on the streets to support our local restaurants and retailers and keep commuters here after hours,” he said. “There is no question it will help to create a more vibrant and lively center city.”

The team hopes to attract and keep fans by offering more than the usual amount of bells and whistles.

The stadium includes 18 luxury suites and two other suites adjacent to the dugouts.

It also will have some unusual amenities such as a barbershop and a shoe shine station (which are still in the design phase), a kids “fun zone” just beyond the center field fence with an inflatable slide and bounce house and a glassed-in batting cage, which will allow fans with premium tickets to watch the players practice.

Fans also will have some unique food choices in keeping with the theme of its title sponsor, such as a BLT served between two glazed doughnuts and a kabob with alternating chicken pieces and doughnut munchkins.

There was supposed to be related retail development around the stadium, which is still caught up in the litigation surrounding the original developer. Bronin said once that is resolved, they will look for a new development partner to complete that part of the project.

“My hope is that by pursuing that broader development ... we will be able to, over time, ensure that the ballpark isn’t a significant financial burden,” he said.

The Yard Goats are expected to play 70 home games at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in 2017. Solomon said the organization also is working to bring in college and high school games, festivals and concerts.